Flux
by pasteldelic
Summary: AU - Lucy got accepted into one of the biggest private and most prestigious schools in Fiore with a scholarship. She thought she'll have the typical high school life, but it seems lady luck isn't on her side this time. See how her past goes back to haunt her and how a certain boy band takes an interest in our favorite blonde Heartfilia. / cover by yours truly, rated t for swearing.
1. 【Prologue】

_**flux**_

AU - Lucy got accepted into one of the biggest private and most prestigious schools in Fiore with a scholarship. She thought she'll have the typical high school life, with a history she tried to leave behind forever. But it seems that her past had come back to haunt her and unfortunately goes to the same school as her. And what's worse is that she happens to get involved with a famous boy band who took a sudden interest in her. Curse her luck.

* * *

><p><strong>flux<strong>  
>fləks/

_noun_

1. the action or process of flowing or flowing out.  
>2. continuous change.<p>

—

_"You know what's the only permanent thing in this world? Change. It's the natural state. Our moods change. Our lives change. Our feelings for each other change. Our bearings change. The song changes. The air changes. The temperature of the shower changes. We change. Everything and everyone changes. And you have to accept this. We must accept this."_

* * *

><p><span>Ｐｒｏｌｏｇｕｅ<span>

Skipping breakfast isn't always a good idea, nor is walking to school because you missed the bus—most especially if it's raining. And then the train that she could take to go to school already left. Lucy has no idea when she had a bad day like this. She had woken up late; ten minutes before her first class would begin. She slept three in the morning because of her anxiety and excitement for her first day in a wealthy academy such as Fairy Tail. She couldn't imagine how she got accepted with a scholarship. It was so overwhelming her eyes couldn't shut close to sleep. It was frustrating, really: wide awake during the witching hour until dawn breaks.

Her estimated sleep would probably have lasted around a whole hour, and her alarm went off. Her eyes were bloodshot and dark bags sported under her eyes.

Now here she is, transparent umbrella over her head, her feet desperately trying to avoid puddles, her hair disheveled and a grumbling empty stomach. And what's worse is that she's running late. Awhile ago, she still has five minutes before school starts, now she's two minutes left. It was a pleasant morning, indeed.

Lucy huffed and briskly walked, pushing through crowds of people in the highway, different colors of umbrellas decorated downtown. It's so early in the morning, yet the city is already busy. Well, it _is _in the midst of working season. She sighs one more time when she sees the familiar rooftop of the school and a flag attached by a pole taller than the building, the logo printed on the cloth.

Fairy Tail. Lucy smiles slightly at the name. It's one of her dream schools and it's a great privilege to be able to study there. She walks a bit faster and the rain seems to dissipate slowly.

Lucy glances at her watch, she sees she has a minute and a half to reach school. She looks up and sees a pedestrian lane, and she waits impatiently before the sign by the post turns green. After a few seconds, it dings to a walking neon man and she's off, with other people surrounding her. The rain is weaker now and she breathes in relief. She inhales through her nose and the fresh scent of rain reaches her nose. The smell of rain always makes her feel relaxed; one of the reason why she loves it when it rains. Except if she has to walk to school during a drizzle, she doesn't.

When she reaches the other side of the road, she starts running, her feet going faster and making a dash. She looks at her watch again and she has half a minute left. Not until someone bumps into her—or pushes her, she wasn't sure—and they both fall on the ground together in the middle of the sea of people.

"Hey!" She shrieks once her bum touches the ground, her bag and umbrella falling from her hands. People from the crowd merely avoided her as they went around her to pass by; thankfully, it won't make any difficulty for her to stand up and fix herself.

At least they weren't rude enough to step on her hands or belongings.

She stares at the person who 'pushed' her, and sees pink obnoxious spiky hair, making her blink repeatedly. It was a guy, about her age to say the least, and was wearing the Fairy Tail male uniform, blazer unbuttoned.

A sandwich stuck between his lips as he faces her, standing up and picking up his own umbrella, dusting himself off. His bag was slung across his torso.

He grinned from ear to ear and to her disbelief, still managed to speak with a sandwich in between his teeth, "Ah, sorry about that." He offers her his hand, and for a moment, she hesitantly looks at his face and to the hand, until she grabs it—which is unexpectedly warm—and gets back on her feet. She bends and picks up her bag and transparent umbrella. She pats her skirt and nods. Good thing the ground isn't that wet to dirty her uniform.

"It's okay." She shrugs, and she looks at her watch for the last time. Ten seconds left. Lucy groans. No matter what she'll do, she'll end up late, anyway. The guy gives her an odd look and checks her out up and down. Lucy backs away a bit and leaves a good distance between her and the boy.

He was attractive, she'd say. Spiky hair, nice tanned skin and a strong yet charming face. _With an appeal_. She adds in her mind; yet he's making her feel conscious, and her face heats up a bit. His eyes trail back to her face, focusing on her own eyes.

She quickly looks away. She isn't exactly fond of eye contact.

"You're from Fairy Tail?" He asks, surprised.

"Err, yeah." _Obviously._ Lucy awkwardly says, slinging her bag on her shoulder. "I could see you are, too. And mind you that we're running late," she points out. "Bloody late." She unnecessarily. adds for suspense.

He jumps and stands straight, "Oh yeah! Crap! Come on then!" He pulls her by the arm and then makes a dash towards the school. They ran as if they were chasing for a thief. She yelps for a few times, her feet scrambling clumsily, hoping not to trip on her own legs.

"W-Wait! Slow down!" Lucy almost flew forward from the speed, but luckily kept her balance. The boy didn't even listen to her and decided to run faster.

"H-Hey!" She shouts at him.

It was a comical scene; a pink-haired guy running like a madman with his hand latched onto a blonde girl's who happens to be flying already instead of running along behind him. Everyone else was look at the odd pair; because it isn't everyday you see something like this.

When they _did _finally step inside the campus, he didn't stop running. He just entered the building, went up the stairs—with her being pulled by the pink-haired lad—headed to a classroom, without even knowing what room he or Lucy are supposed to be in. And Natsu slides the door and clumsily falls face first as he enters, with Lucy pulled in with him. Both teens panted as they lay on the floor of the classroom in a tangled heap of two.

All eyes of the occupants in the room are on them. "Oh my." A voice says. The teacher in front scratched the back of his head, "May I have your names, at least?"

The boy stood up first, jabbing a thumb to himself. "Natsu Dragneel!" After he announces his name, the teacher looks at the class record where a list of names were printed on, and when he finds the boy's name, he points at a vacant chair at the back beside a dark-haired topless boy. Natsu excitedly dashes to his chair, which makes the half-naked student beside him scowl bitterly.

Lucy remains on the floor but slowly stands up to her feet, patting her uniform. The teacher sighs once more and asks, "Name?" Lucy blinks in wonder and looks at the room occupied by students alike. All of their eyes were on her, as if they were waiting for her to do a miracle or somewhere along that. Lucy quickly looks down on her feet. She breathes for a short moment, anxious. Her palms were suddenly sweaty from being the center of attention and she manages to squeak out her name.

"Um... Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia," she says timidly. The teacher looks at his class record to search for her name, and to her surprise, his eyes lights up and he enthusiastically points his pen to a vacant chair by window at the back. Lucy slightly rolls her eyes at the stereotypical seat, given that she is a student of Fairy Tail by luck and is almost considered a transfer student.

Before she walks over to her seat, she makes eye contact with the Natsu-boy, and he gives her a wide grin. She was surprised, but she shoots him a small smile of her own. And with that, she heads to her seat quickly and seats herself. She fixes herself, as the teacher starts to introduce himself and about the school.

Lucy gives the pink-haired lad another glance, and this time, he wasn't looking. It must be fate. She giggles to herself; maybe it wasn't exactly a bad day after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>:

It was considerably long, for a prologue. But I hope you guys enjoyed it! I have no idea what title I'd give this story and so I consulted the book The Lovers' Dictionary by David Levithan, and scanned through the words there. And I found this term, "flux." It happened to catch my eye and I looked up the definition and I thought, it was _perfect_. I don't know if it will fit the story's plot-line but I do hope it manages to interest you, readers.

Anyway, chapter one will be uploaded within a few days' time or a week. Most probably five or six more days, chapter one is ready to go.

And I'm still trying to get over the ending of Naruto. I wasn't exactly happy with the couples who ended up together in the end, so I am treating myself and curing my broken otaku heart with my favorite fanfictions of my favorite ships in Naruto. At least, I'm doing fine. But I'm still busy at school, as always, so I'll try to catch up with my deadline (a week's time) and satisfy you readers with the next chapter.

I hope you liked this long prologue! Give me some feedback! Or PM me if you want to tell me something in private! And please vote on my poll. Thank you so much for reading this! This is just the beginning. Much love.

See you!


	2. 【Chapter One】

_❝It would be too easy to say that I feel invisible. Instead, I feel painfully visible. And entirely ignored.❞_  
>—David Levithan, "Everyday"<p>

* * *

><p><span>Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ Ｏｎｅ<br>/travelling thoughts/

—

**Greenwich Mean Time 10:31 AM**  
>Flight 9281, London — Fiore<br>710 km left for travel / 441.174 miles left for travel

—

Lucy stares out the window, her chin resting on her palm. The wing whizzing past through fluffy clouds, the ocean bluer than she thought. It was fascinating, really; flying and travelling. It felt really good. It's like soaring through the sky with a hundred other people, except it's in a cramped space where you are staying in for many hours with a hundred other people which can lead her to her constant attack of claustrophobia.

Lucy only discovered she had a not-so-mild-but-not-that-bad-either case of claustrophobia when she was a young, naïve little girl she knows she is. One time, she was utterly bored in the mansion, with nothing to do and her ballet lessons not starting before two more hours, she wandered around. And she doesn't know how, but she ends up in a small storage room. Smelling like old books and light coming from the small window high on the wall.

And she began to panic, and little Lucy started banging on the door, calling for help. She started breathing heavily and almost fell unconscious. Not until someone opens the door.

And family butler Capricorn was there to save the day as always. He had taken her up in his arms as she sobs quietly, burying her face on his sleek suit. He would pat her back and says it's all going to be okay. And when she stops crying, his fancy distinctive goatee would make Lucy giggle slightly and he carries her back to her room. He doesn't scold her like her father would have, but he had told her to keep away from small spaces.

With him explaining everything about claustrophobia that young, naïve little Lucy would never understand, only tilting her head to the side as if she could understand every word.

Lucy sighs at the memory, and checks her watch. _10:32_, it reads. After a few hours, the sun would be high up and would most probably make anyone blind in this height if they try to stare at it. Lucy still has five more hours before she arrives in Fiore. Well, it's not like she will be in a hurry, anyway. Once she arrives in Fiore, it's only around three pm or so.

Fiore is found somewhere in UK, small country, sure; but it's not too shabby. Several say it's fun there and many successful people come from the very wealthy and royal schools there. Lucy has no idea how a scholarship got into the mail at the apartment she shares with another girl in London, saying she got accepted in the Fairy Tail Academy.

Her eyes almost bugged out of their sockets.

And after learning just that, she immediately booked a flight online, packed her bags, contacted her middle school friends she's leaving, and went out with her closest friends—"close" meaning having gathered enough information about them that could get them get along with each other.

Even though all of it was all so sudden, especially her departure and the scholarship and everything else, Lucy was happy that time. She called the family mansion, Capricorn answered the phone, hearing her father is busy again.

It's not like Lucy was expecting her father to answer, anyway.

Lucy bid farewell and teared up a little. Capricorn was impassive, as always, but he talked with so much concern and a tone of sadness into it, Lucy had to bawl her eyes out.

But it was okay. She had nowhere to go. She didn't want to go back to the mansion—it was hell—and middle school in London was fine with her, but she never tried getting close with anyone ever—it gets lonely most of the time—and her dream school was in Fiore and to her surprise, she got accepted.

It was another milestone in her life.

And to top it all off, this is her first time to travel alone. And first time on a plane. At least, Lucy didn't get to feel any claustrophobia crawling in her nerves again. She wouldn't and would never ask for it. Travelling alone is already bad, getting an attack of claustrophobia is something she dreads. Always.

Most likely the "YOLO" moments of her life but not likely. If that makes sense.

Lucy is seated by the window, Seat 11A, beside a snoring—rather attractive—guy with a knitted beanie on, and mouth wide open. And at the other side was a woman in her early 60's knitting a pink scarf, probably for her granddaughter. She closes her eyes for a moment and she could hear the incoherent chatter, the flipping and turning sound of book pages and magazines, the chill of the air conditioner above them, the constant opening-and-closing of the lavatory and then the sliding of shoes against the carpet floor. It was rather relaxing and Lucy doesn't mind the small space at all.

Travelling in a tube-shaped transportation vehicle with additional wings at the sides and a tail, almost like a bird, she could get used to it. As long as her mind is away from the thought of the small space closing in on her, squeezing her and leaving her no space to breath.

Lucy opens her eyes and this time, she starts to look around.

She stares a the guy beside her, and examines his appearance. Strong jaw, defined nose, long eyelashes, perfect eyebrows. He has an earring on his left ear, with a pendant attached to it. He has a diagonal scar above his left eye. Lucy stares at it for a while, assuming it was a simple cut that wasn't treated properly, perhaps. Blonde hair was sticking out from the beanie, and saliva was trailing down from his open mouth and down his chin. He has a grey hoodie on, denim skinny jeans and sneakers. Simple and non-elegant.

But attractive, nonetheless.

His seat belt was loose, and if this plane would crash land, he'd fly away, leaving the seat belt useless. Lucy closes her eyes again and shuts off the thought. She's not exactly superstitious, but it still scares her. Sometimes.

Lucy shakes it off.

She then looks at the woman beside the guy. Her eyes were white and curly, wrinkles were forming on her face, and the black earphones that the stewardesses passed out earlier were plugged in her ears. She was so caught up into her knitting, she barely sees Lucy staring at her. The woman was wearing a shawl, and a wide purple blouse under it, and a dark floral skirt that reaches exactly on her ankle bones, and her wrinkled feet adorned brown old-woman loafers.

Aging people are adorable, to be honest. They're so innocent. Like they don't have any problems in life anymore and all they want is to find happiness in their family's new family. Or just simply... knitting.

She giggles at the thought. Lucy can't _wait _to age. No problems, just happiness. But not at the brink of death, no. Please. She scoffs at the thought.

Lucy checks her watch again and it was already 10:45. Her eyebrows rose up to her forehead. She didn't even realize she took _that _long to wander off into her thoughts.

Hmm, she still has five hours. And within those five hours, she'll try to sleep. She barely had any sleep because she had to chase for the departure time. She almost missed it, but she had a minute left before boarding time ends. Thank God for that.

She closes her window closed, grabs her earpods and plugs it in her iPod, putting it on shuffle and wears the earpods. She leans her head back on her seat and momentarily looks at the No Smoking sign above her and closes her eyes. She'll miss London, but she wants to experience new things and have an adventure. She wants to have fun, have new friends and learn new things.

You can't stay in one place forever. In life, you have to move on. You can't be stuck in your own comfort zone. Sometimes, you have to take risks.

And Lucy is taking one right now. But she has no regrets at all.

She dozes off to sleep as the music reaches her ears. A smile was on her face. No regrets at all, indeed.

—

**Greenwich Mean Time 2:01 PM**  
>Flight 9281, London — Fiore<br>93 km left for travel / 57.7875 miles left for travel

—

Lucy wakes up from the shifting of a person beside her. Her eyes crack open and groans slightly. She gives the time a look and she rubs away the sleep from her eyes. _Still not enough sleep_, she thinks. She takes off her earpods and stops the playing music. She quickly sits up straight and her stomach grumbled. At that sound, the guy beside her—who happens to have woken up—shoots her an amused look and he grins at her. Lucy blinks at that. He has _really _stormy grey eyes. And they don't look as scary but entertained.

"Hungry?" He speaks. His voice was hoarse from sleep but she could tell it was cheerful but low. He points at her stomach and Lucy's face flushes from embarrassment. She looks away and doesn't respond. He laughs. "Yeah, you were dozing off when they were giving away lunch. Too bad." He shrugs his shoulders.

Lucy's eyebrow rose. They give away lunch? For free? She never knew that. If she did, she would have stayed awake the whole flight! She looks at him incredulously and the guy notices her stare. He smirks, this time.

"First time travelling?"

"Um, yeah." She hears her own voice and she cringes. It's almost sounds like her voice box is going to give in any moment.

"Ah, I know the feeling," He says. She gazes at him, confused. "Travelling alone for the first time." He quickly adds. She nods her head in understanding.

And they started talking and telling stories to each other after awhile. She has no idea if it's normal for two strangers to talk this much. He mentioned about studying psychology when he's in college, and he even mentioned his proposal plans for his girlfriend and his future family plans. He told her about what Fiore is like and what kind of stuff she'll see there and their culture. She doesn't even know where he's from, but he mentioned about studying primary in Manchester and moving to Birmingham for middle school, and he started high school in London. And now he's going to Fiore with a whole hundred other people including her, so that he could finish high school there. And he told her stories about travelling to Alaska for Christmas with his family, and going to Paris with his girlfriend and his friend and his friend's girlfriend. At least he went to a lot of places already. He's having an adventure. She felt a little envious. Maybe because he's older than her, but that's not basically the point.

The farthest she got was Bradford because of an educational trip her school required.

What can she do, though? She doesn't have enough money to travel. Hell, sometimes, she has to walk to school because bus fares are outrageous. And taxis are unbelievable. She left the mansion penniless, lost and clueless. Primary school, home-schooled. First two years of middle school, home-schooled. Not until she left the mansion and her father, packing her own things and renting an apartment with an oddball like her.

Impressive.

She told him about leaving the rich life and suddenly turning poor in a second, how she's got this butler that looks like a goat, and ballet lessons and etiquette lessons every single day with teachers nagging at her how she doesn't have enough poise and elegance. She told him about her busy father who stays in his office forever. And even her deceased mother. He was listening intently and he was obviously interested.

He wanted to say something. To give her a comment about her sad, sad life. But the intercom went off, the captain's voice resounding from it.

"Hey guys. This is your captain speaking, and it seems it's a lovely sunny afternoon in Fiore today. Open up your windows and close the tables. Time check 2:41 PM. We will begin landing on 2:50. We're pretty early today. For your safety, please go back to your seats and buckle up your seat belts. The seat belt sign is on and get ready for take off in nine minutes or so. Thank you for flying with us today and we hope you enjoyed your flight. Once again, good afternoon and this is your captain, Clap Catbogen." And there was static and the intercom was done.

Bodies were shifting around the airplane and the sound of books and plastic was heard again. And the incoherent chatter was back, except this time it was louder. Everyone was already awake. Lucy buckles up and puts her feet flat on the ground. Just by the contact, her heart started to beat loudly against her ribcage. The thought of her on air and not on solid ground made her feel ecstatic. It was amazing.

The blonde guy beside her whistled, fixing his beanie. "2:41, huh. We didn't even know we _talked _that long." He chuckled to himself. Lucy managed a smile on her own and nodded her head in agreement. She wanted to ask his name, but thought against it. She'd never see him again after this, anyway. And it looked like he wasn't interested in knowing her name, either. She stayed quiet, pursing her lips.

He adjusts his watch and chain bracelet, takes off his beanie and runs his hand through his tousled hair as if trying to fix it back to its normal look, and wears his beanie again. He zips up his hoodie and buckles up as well. He nods in satisfaction and leans his head back. Lucy smiles slightly.

She sits back and relaxes, waiting for the time. After a few minutes, a stewardess started to speak. "Good afternoon, everyone. This is flight 9281 and we have arrived in Fiore safely. Approximately 10 kilometers left before takeoff. I request everyone to buckle up and get ready for takeoff. Thank you for flying Royalty Airlines and we hope you enjoyed your flight..." and she started to babble about merchandise and the weather.

"I'm going to warn you about the really rough turbulence later." He says.

"Turbulence?"

"Mm-hmm." He hums in reply, and after that, they both become quiet and didn't utter a word afterwards.

Whatever that was, she knew she wouldn't like it.

And after a few more minutes, she was right. She didn't like it. At all. It made her panic, not a little, but a _lot_. She didn't even realize she was gripping the armrest so hard she wasn't sure if it was going to break into two. And a moment later, everything became still and peaceful. Lucy's breath hitched and she exhaled.

The guy beside her laughed at her reaction. "Enjoyed it?" Lucy gulps and shakes her head rapidly.

"No!" The perks of a weak heart, she guesses.

"The perks of a weak heart, I guess." He shrugs and grins in amusement. Lucy looks at him in surprise as he said the words in her head out of his mouth. Wow. Is he a mind reader? She laughs at her own joke.

She nods her head, unsure. "Probably."

And the intercom went off for the last time, saying they have landed safely and the usual 'Welcome to—' greetings. And after that, everyone started standing up, getting their bags from the compartment above them, and waiting until the gates open, and then the plane goes empty slowly. Stewards and stewardesses check the seats for lost objects and bags, and before she even knew it, she was in an unfamiliar place again.

—

**Greenwich Mean Time 3:04 PM**  
>Arrival Gate, Fiore Airport, Fiore<br>...

—

"Welcome to Fiore." The guy she was sitting beside was now walking with her, luggage rolling behind him. Lucy gripped her travelling bag tightly, and adjusts her backpack. He had a wide grin on his face, and she just smiles back. She knew she must have smelled bad, but he didn't seem to mind. He was taller than her, she could tell. She only reached above his chin, but barely his eyes.

She smiles at that. "Yeah." That's all she could manage to say and she felt a bit disappointed with herself. Lame. Both of them started walking together, and the arrival procedures—with him helping her out, thankfully—and they reach the vicinity of the exit of the airport.

"I guess this will be the last time I'll see you?" He sheepishly tells her, scratching the back of his head. Lucy pursed her lips.

"I guess so." She shrugs. He grins once more and he offers his hand to her.

"Sting." He introduces himself. Lucy was taken aback. She wasn't expecting him to do something so sudden and trivial. She wasn't expecting anything from him at all. To be completely honest with herself and to the gods above, she doesn't know where she'll go after they part ways. She's back to being clueless and dumb again. She never actually thought about it, nor did she have any plans at all.

But she accepted his hand and shook it back, nonetheless. "Hey. I'm Lucy." She looks down on her feet, shy and timid. Sting laughs and throws his head back.

"See you around." He gives her a wide smile and a comforting pat on her head, and it seemed from that gesture, for Lucy, it made everything better. She almost felt like crying for no particular reason. It's like there won't be anyone there for her anymore, even though he was with her for only a brief moment of her life. It's like the loneliness was kicking in once more. "Bye, Lucy. Stay safe!" He says cheerfully and he turns away, heading his way to the exit.

And before she knew it, she hugs him. She buries her head on his back. There was a lump in her throat, but it never released. She thanked the gods for not letting her show how weak she could really be. "Um... thanks. For everything. The company. The conversation. Even if it was only for an hour, thanks."

He abruptly stops. He turns around and rests his head on hers. "Hmm. You mean fifty-nine minutes. You woke up a minute late." He wounds his arms around her small waist and she felt security, even if it's a fleeting moment.

She laughs at him and the loneliness started to fade away.

* * *

><p><em>That's the thing about flying: You could talk to someone for hours and never even know his name, share your deepest secrets and never see him<em> again.❞  
>—Jennifer E. Smith, "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>:

Five days, as promised. Aha, I reached my deadline. For the first time in my life. That's awesome on my part, and I hope it is also as awesome with you readers because it's an early update! I wish you enjoyed the first chapter. This one's almost a filler chapter, but not exactly! And I sure hope when I first described Sting, you guessed it was him all along! Haha!

And no, guys, it will not be a StiCy story. Don't forget I mentioned in this chapter that Sting has a girlfriend, so don't go expecting more StiCy moments. But you're free to fangirl all you want. Take this chapter as a fan service. :p _Also_, I have no idea where to locate Fiore so I randomly put it somewhere in UK! No exact location so don't ask me anything about that, please! Hahaha! I hate geography and I'm really bad at it. And I'm not sure if I did the airplane stuff right. It was only inspired by Jennifer E.S.'s story TSPOLAFS. _Adorable _book, I promise you! If you like fluff, that is.

Anyway, that's all I could say for now! I hope you lads and lasses enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! Thanks for reading! Much love.

See you!


	3. 【Chapter Two】

_"Ain't it fun living in the real world? Ain't it good being all alone?"  
><em>―Paramore, "Ain't It Fun"

* * *

><p><span>ＣｈａｐｔｅｒＴｗｏ<span>  
>moving in/

When Sting Eucliffe had given his number to her, she felt ecstatic as relief washed over her entire being. She actually remembered what relaxed breathing felt like. Before he exited the airport, he had snatched a piece of paper from his pocket and took a random pen that was sticking out of someone's humongous travelling bag, and then started writing his number. He handed the paper to her and flashed a wide grin before dashing out of the place, a white-haired girl welcoming him outside.

Lucy doesn't pay his leave any mind anymore as she clutched the paper to her chest. She read the unfamiliar contact number. She smiled and neatly folded the paper into the deepest part of her pocket—just to be safe. She didn't want anything to get lost.

Sting's number is an emergency that could actually help her life.

After a moment of registering her surroundings, she was off to the particular exit where several people are hailing cabs and the vehicles are waiting for passengers to get in. She pulls her luggage as it rolls behind her.

Once Lucy stepped outside, the lukewarm air of September swells against her. Then a chilly wind hits her and everybody else. She closes her eyes for a moment and takes a whiff of the atmosphere. She sniffs dramatically—

—and smoke suddenly enters her nostrils.

Her whole face contorted into discomfort.

Lucy started to cough and covered her mouth. _Okay, maybe being dramatic is a bad idea. _She thinks to herself as she takes a handkerchief from her bag and wipes her face.

Well, she wanted to give it a try. Besides, it's her first time being in another country and her first time actually travelling, so she had to have the chance.

But it seems she's still not lucky. She sighs lastly.

She stares at the jetlagged people around her—bags and dark circles under their eyes and oily faces—and saw their hands were up as they hailed sleek black cabs. All of them looked stressed and frazzled; it made her want to laugh.

It may seem funny but she doesn't have the right to laugh. Who knows, she may look uglier than the rest of them. Lucy winced at the thought.

She notices the sleek, shiny, black cabs speeding and stopping, and how they're made in right-hand drive.

_Just like in London..._ Lucy ponders. She raises her hand and tries to hail one, but then a cab speeds right past her. Her hair and clothes swept to the left, her face frozen and stunned from the force of the wind.

"Hey, watch it!" She cries out, as if the cab could hear her.

What a turd.

She rolls her eyes. You'd get used to it in London, anyway. All cabs are like that.

Then she hears a loud whistle coming from behind her. Lucy turns her head to see who it was and sees a security guard. He was slightly aging and wrinkles were forming on his face. He gives her an apologetic smile, his eyes crinkling and smiling as well. Lucy blinks at him awkwardly.

"I am so sorry about that, madam. That naturally happens here in the airport if the cabs are just passing by to take a U-Turn." He explains calmly, placing his gloved hand on her shoulder.

Lucy nods her head in understanding and grips her bag. She narrows her eyes back at the asphalt road.

Right.

_Or _the drivers are just complete bastards.

She scoffs at the thought. The cabs are basically hungry for passengers. And in this kind of season, fares get more unbelievable and outrageous, she'd prefer walking instead. It's not the passengers' fault that they don't _want _to ride cabs that much anymore.

The security guard starts to hum.

"Hmm, let me call you a cab." He beams kindly and hails one. And to her amusement, the black vehicle swerves and stops in front of her. Lucy chuckles.

"Why, thank you, kind sir." She faces the older man and gives him a slight bow and the security guard laughs. He bows back with his hat in hand, and he helps her carry the bags to the trunk of the cab.

Afterwards, he opens the door for her and she slips inside and closes the door gently, not before giving him a grateful smile.

Lucy relaxes herself on the cheap leather of the car and exhales. Yeah, the cabs are expensive _and _cheap. She sees the driver look at her on the rearview mirror before lazily saying, "Where to?"

She purses her lips together and started to say, "Uh... Fairy Tail Academy... please." Lucy grins crookedly and then the driver shrugs and steps on the engine, and they were off. She's not even sure if the cabs know what that place is but she reminds herself that it's one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

Lucy sighs and scoots to the window. The cab moves faster and within moments, they were out of the airport and on the highway. Her eyes light up in awe as tall buildings and bridges and bulletin boards whoosh past through them.

Many palm trees were planted near the road accordingly and it almost reminded her of the pictures she sees online every time she searches for Los Angeles and other famous cities worldwide. It was thrilling to her—seeing everything in real life with her very own eyes. It brings odd tingles to her heart; it almost made her giggle from the ticklish feeling. There were so many skyscrapers and public works. She can't wait to go to the tourist spots.

And she almost wished she never gave away her DSLR camera to her roommate.

She closes her eyes and leans her head on the cool glass. She thinks through all of the events that had occurred to her within the 24 hours.

Yesterday, she was out with her friends for the last time, she had a great movie marathon with her weird roommate, they went out for dinner together for the first time, she received a call of a boy from school's confession on midnight, she fell asleep on the devil's hour, she woke up finding she's running out of time before her flight, she almost missed her flight, she was seated by the window with a blonde guy and an old lady beside her, she acquainted with the blonde and his name was Sting, they laughed and told stories to each other, he gave her his number, and then that was when reality hit her.

It was eventful. She'd never forget about this experience. It's worth remembering. Maybe she should buy a journal... Lucy opens her eyes and her range of vision meets skyscrapers and different kinds of shops. That's when she realizes that she must be in Downtown, Magnolia. Crowds filled the sidewalks, in and out of the shops.

When her cab goes to a full stop in a red light, she observes and studies the city. It was so much like London except there is less population and there are more cafés here. At least with that, she could find a place to stay in whenever she's bored or in her free time.

Café's. Yes, perfect.

She watches a sea of people pass by the pedestrian lane and she sees them on trench coats, scarves, fluffy boots and beanies. It _was _autumn after all. She checks her clothes and she's wearing a simple dark cardigan, a thick grey shirt, denim jeans, and a pair of white Adidas. It was inappropriate for this kind of weather but she's used to a slight chill.

Besides, a frosty wind won't hurt her. Maybe, but whatever. It's too late to change outfits anyhow.

After a few more minutes, the cab began moving again. Lucy leans forward on her seat to ask the driver, "How many more minutes 'til we get there?" She doesn't forget to steal a glance to the small screen that shows her fare.

62.12 Jewels.

_Oh._ So they use 'Jewels' as their currency instead of the regular Pound (£). She makes a self-reminder to go to the nearest money transfer machine.

"Say about five more." The man replies gruffly as he circles the steering wheel to go through a right turn. Lucy nods her head and leans back against the cheap leather.

She starts to wonder what lies ahead once she steps out of this car.

**[ (=^･ω･^=) ]**

**Greenwich Mean Time 3:52 PM  
><strong>Main Building, Fairy Tail Academy  
>Magnolia City, Fiore<p>

The moment her foot touched the solid ground of the academy, her heart was beating erratically and uncontrollably. Her face was flushed and her eyes were wide from anxiety. The driver took her luggage out of the trunk and took off, leaving her standing stupidly in front of the large gate with her mouth wide agape like a fish. Her eyebrow starts to twitch and her breath hitches. The overwhelming feeling washes over her and she clutches her backpack like a vice; as if she's going to fall if she lets it go.

After a few moments, though, of standing in the center of the main entrance of the school, she shakes herself out of her reverie and makes a few steps forward gradually, until she starts to walk in a moderate pace. It was quiet around her, there was not a single person standing.

It was a vast space of nothing but greens and the large main building of the school stands in the center of the lot. And on each side of the main building are smaller buildings with lesser floors attached to it that leads to the back. And on each side of the smaller buildings are roofs that have poles that hold them up as they shelter long mahogany benches—most probably a waiting shed for students. On the area where Lucy stands is a cobblestone walkway that leads to the front double doors of the main building, and on the vicinity of the walkway are lines of bushes of roses, hydrangea, oleander and other kinds of bushes. A space cuts of both lines of the bushes in the middle of it that leads to a free space of green grass and on each side has a willow tree that stands in the center of its empty space.

She notices the leaves of the shrubs and trees were falling off and some of them turning orange and red. She smiles and reminds herself that it's fall; the perfect season to buy a relaxing warm coffee and stay outside for a period of time without freezing yourself to death or burning your skin.

Lucy breathes the air in and sighs in satisfaction. The autumn wind breezes the place and all you could hear are the rustling leaves, chirping birds and the wheels of her luggage rolling and bumping against the cobblestone.

It was all too quiet. But Lucy didn't mind. There was never a time she experienced complete silence where she could peacefully think about her life and find a solution for her problems. Unluckily for her, she is cursed with loud and obnoxious friends and yet she still loves them.

Right now, it was silent. It wasn't uncomfortable nor was it awkward. It was blissful peace. She beams to herself and climbs up the staircase that leads to the double doors. She savored every quiet step she takes; humming a tune in her mind.

But she didn't know how worse her day would be, she didn't how much it would ruin everything she's enjoying right now until the doors swing open and someone bursts out of it.

Everything happened so fast, all she saw was a pink and white blur.

She felt and vaguely saw the random stranger collide with her body, but the force hasn't registered to her yet. She gasps. She squints her eyes and waited for the impact of the ground against her back, but all she felt were two large, warm arms enveloping around her and a lot of spinning.

_What in the world?_ A loud groan reaches her ears and then a small thud. Her face was pressed against a soft yet rock-hard surface and she could still feel arms wrapped around her waist and shoulder. She opens her eyes and blinks in confusion.

The first thing she see is an exposed neck and a chin pointing towards her. And the skin has a good tan too. She looks down and sees that the 'soft yet rock-hard surface' she felt was a muscled chest covered by a white tank top.

Lucy tries to pull away from the tight grip on her body, but she just ends up squirming and whimpering underneath the boy's hold. She starts to pant heavily after four tries of escaping. She_ really_ needs to go to the gym to improve her stamina.

But first, she has to get out of here.

The only choice she has is to talk to the stranger. She opens her mouth to say, "Excuse me, can you _please _get your hands off of me?" but she ended up closing it; because an annoyed, male voice and lots of footsteps resounded behind her.

"Damn, Natsu. It's not even the first day of school and you're already grabbing innocent girls?" The male voice says jokingly. Then she feels a deep rumble against her own chest. A sweet, warm laugh reaches her ears, then.

"Ha! You're just jealous!" Lucy keeps quiet and bites her lip, unconsciously burying her face against the tank top. "Besides, it's _your _fault why!" The boy—Natsu?—snarls in annoyance, his hold around her loosening. Lucy notices this and stays still for a moment.

"What did you say? You're the one who stole my stuff and ran off!"

Natsu started to laugh out loud. "I didn't _steal _it. I just borrowed it so I could announce it to the entire school that you have a _toy_," Natsu sneered and quickly added, "A sex toy, to say the least."

And with that statement, everything happened all at the same time. Lucy's face flushed as red as a tomato, her ears burning, the gawking sound behind her, several gasps and snickers from boys and girls alike, and then the loud, comical laugh of the Natsu guy.

"G-Gray!" An uneasy female voice yelps. Lucy takes that as the chance to get out of the loose hold; she jumps away and stands up quickly. When she gets back on her feet, her cheeks are still burning.

The Natsu guy sits up and scratches the back of his head; he stares up at Lucy and he grins toothily. "Sorry about that! It's all Gray's fault you got hurt." His finger points accusingly at the raven-haired man in front of them but he keeps his gaze at her.

Lucy's face burns furiously then. She gulps. It's embarrassing enough that she was 'rescued' by this _jockish _stranger from a fall that could cause her a concussion, and he's still apologizing to her.

"It's okay! I'm not hurt..." She waves her hands in front of her frantically, a nervous smile on her face. She could feel all eyes on her. "...not at all." After a few seconds, her face returns to its color.

Her eyes quickly searches around and spots her luggage fallen on the cobblestone. She runs to it and picks it up, patting it along the way. What a turn of events to start her first day in Fiore. It was still awkwardly silent, until another unfamiliar voice speaks up.

"You're moving in here?"

Yes, apparently. It would be weird if she'd go visit a school with a big baggage.

She wanted to say those exact words but all that went out was a shy "Yes," and a meek nod. Way to go, Lucy.

Natsu did an impressive Chinese get-up and leaned his body forward before he shoved his face close to hers, their noses almost touching. A wide grin was spread across his face. "_Really_?!" Lucy stepped back a bit and her blush went back shooting to her face. "You're gonna live here?" His face lights up in wonder.

Many of his friends face-palmed and groaned. While she was red from the neck up to her ears, speechless. "Natsu. Leave the poor girl alone," a soothing, motherly voice scolds. Lucy looks at the owner of the voice and sees a girl—maybe a few years older than her—with white silvery hair and feminine cerulean eyes.

Natsu's face transforms into a face of a child pouting, and leaned back, stretching widely. "Eh, you always ruin my fun, Mira-ne-san*." He complains, but the latter just smiles back at him warmly.

"Just go back inside your room, Natsu," The white-haired girl shakes her head and gestures the pink-haired boy back to the building. "You too, everybody." She shoos them all away with her hand and they all obey with grunts.

Lucy watches the scene unfold with awe. It amazes her to see how a single person could dominate an entire group of ten people. Well, she used to see her father order everyone in the company around but seeing regular people like them makes her giddy on the inside. Is she the leader of everyone here or something? It can't be possible if she's the same level as her year when she can do something like _that_.

Okay, maybe Lucy is overreacting but she'd always wanted to do that. You know... boss around someone. But that's kind of rude but it won't hurt to try, anyway.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she hears the older girl's voice; "Sorry about that," she chuckles heartily, making a smile spread across Lucy's face like melted butter, "They're naturally like that, so you have to get used to it when you go to this school." She shrugs.

Lucy laughs and shakes her head, "No, it's alright," The older girl smiles humorously and Lucy adds, "I've had friends like that from London."

"You're from London?"

When she nods, her blonde hair jumps along. "Yeah, I wanted to leave that place so bad, you know?"

"Hmm," the senior hums, "No matter how interested I am in knowing the reason why, it's extremely rude for me to push you further. Anyway, hi, I'm Mirajane Strauss! A senior of this high school and I'm the one who manages the students who stay on the dormitory." She says cheerfully and offers her hand to Lucy. The way she brightly introduces herself makes Lucy feel as gleeful. She appreciates her respect to not ask too many questions about her life.

She shakes her hand back with the same enthusiasm. "Ah, I'm Lucy," she squeezes the older girl's soft hand gently, "Lucy Heartfilia."

Mirajane's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Lucy notices this and waits for the expected answer.

The older girl was quiet for a moment, frozen on her spot and her eyes slightly wide. Lucy waits for the reaction, but nothing came. She blinks in confusion.

Mirajane simply smiles and nods her head in understanding. This time, it's Lucy who raises her eyebrows next. "Is that so?" She says, and Lucy nods her head slowly, "Okay. Let's head inside then."

"A—yeah, sure." Lucy stutters and starts pulling her luggage again, with Mirajane in front of her as she follows her behind.

She enters through the double doors and when her foot touches the marble ground, a gasp comes out of her lips. She hears Mirajane giggle. "Welcome to the school lobby, Lucy." The room is dimly lit with a golden hue.

It was one of the most beautiful interior decoration she has ever seen her entire life. The golden chandelier hangs on the center of the high ceiling with diamonds scattered around it. The ceiling is designed with delicate and detailed intricate patterns, and smooth, white pillars stand proudly around the room; its shaft pure white. The floor is made out of rich marble and is polished so diligently, you could see your reflection. In the center of the lobby lies a red carpet with similar design as the ceiling's, and a circle of red and gold sofas. And in the middle of the circle stands a rosewood round table, with a large vase of different types of flowers—the arrangement is _amazing_. At each end of the lobby is a wide flight of stairs made out of most probably oak, and a long, thin carpet lies on the foot of the staircase. The walls are painted with a simple pale color, which goes well with the brown, red and golden furniture. Plants in pots and palm trees that almost reach the ceiling are decorated in all the right places. Near the right staircase are the information counter and a large bulletin board (the standing type) with several papers and notices pinned on it. At the other staircase, another double door is located beside it, with two words above it.

_Principal's Office_, it reads.

There is also a hallway that leads to the back, but she can't see any further because it goes on a left and a right turn.

Lucy takes in her surroundings and inhales, just like the way she did in the airport. Except this time, it doesn't smell smoky or itchy to the nose; it doesn't smell like fresh air. It smells like rose, citrus, sweet and musky all at the same time; it relaxed her mind. And was that chocolate she smells? She sniffed again and she could catch the scent of Maltesers and Hershey chocolates. And yes, she could distinguish the scent of chocolate. Weird, but also quite helpful.

"The principal isn't present right now, so why don't I give you a tour around the school until he arrives back?" Mirajane faces Lucy with a beam. Lucy's face brightens and she nods her head like a kid would when he hears his parents got new toys for him.

The senior girl laughs wholeheartedly and gestures her to follow her. "So, let's start with the main building, block one." She says calmly, but Lucy's face turns to a look of horror.

"How many blocks are there in each building?"

"Three blocks, and there are five buildings in school, one gymnasium, outdoor pool, football field, baseball field and we have two buildings for the dormitory." On each word mentioned, Lucy's eyes go wider and wider until her skin is about to tear open.

It's going to be a _long _day.

* * *

><p><em>"You shouldn't have to make anybody like you, Georgie. You should want to be with somebody who can't help but like you." <em>  
>―Rainbow Rowell, "Landline"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>:

That has been a _while _since I last updated! Good thing I didn't promise any deadline or else I'll be in trouble with my readers! Haha. Yeah, so here you go, guys! Chapter two of _Flux_. I've been very busy ever since 2015 started, and I'm also spending my free time sketching and watching anime, so I'm sorry if I can't find enough time to update. But there will always be one! I'm also sort of busy reading new books and reading fanfictions, y'know? So I have a lot in my mind _and _hands. And the school projects, homework and requirements! There are so much to do and I have to spend an _entire _day to sort out my schedule until the end of my school year! I mean, it actually depends if some situations change, but yeah.

I have nothing else to say... but here is the update! I hope you guys liked it! I go home early and miss my after-school tutoring so I could type and finish the update! But I happen to manage my grades, at least. Haha. Okay, bye! Love you all!

Leave some feedback and tell me what you think! Pardon any typos or grammatical errors―English isn't my native language. Yeah, typical excuse but it's very true. So yes, PM me if there any problems and constructive criticisms are allowed. xoxo

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